Fall Farming Activity........

One of my students from high school is out on Sunday afternoon plowing down the corn stalk wastes.  I think this is a form of a disc (chisel plow) that also plows the soil.  To me it looks like a giant version of the disc that they use to use in the past to even out the ground.

It really is like plowing but not the same thing.  There are large chunks being overturned to help cover the dead stalks. I lived in southern Iowa where the soil is mostly clay.  It was rare to have dark soil except for along the river bottoms.  This dark soil here has always fascinated me for it being so fertile.  Also there are areas of loess pockets of glacier action that left mostly fine clay particles and lots of rocks.  Those areas are south of town less the 5 miles away from here.

Can you see man's imprint to this farming activity? This style of farming is suppose to decrease the number of times the tractors go over the soil and it is suppose to slow down erosion. The most rich soil deposit in the world is actually in Butler County in northern Iowa.  It is said that of the richest dark soil in the world that 75% of it is in that northern county.  I believe the glaciers must have gone around that area leaving the true soil undisturbed.

I almost miss seeing the tractor as he was finishing up on these 11 acres when I crossed the street with my camera.  I had to walk over to that truck in the distance to get close enough for a shot.

When running this piece of machinery it takes a lot of power to pull the disc through the soil.  It is moving quite slow and I am sure will never be a fast moving process.

Here he is turned around and ready to leave the field.  Good job Mr. Nixon.  I will see you at school today.

From dirt to roses is a great transition.  I guess roses do grow in soil.   I brought the bud in a few days ago and I am not expecting any more blooming from it.  But this bloom is a little weathered but safe.

I mentioned earlier that I am at school.  I got a call this morning early to be the high school English teacher.  It will be a good day.   Thanks for stopping by today.